


intertwined

by jhopefulyoongi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Holding Hands, Language Barrier, Light Angst, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-06 21:31:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11609343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhopefulyoongi/pseuds/jhopefulyoongi
Summary: junhui neither loves nor hates wonwoo at first sight, but he does know wonwoo is the only one for him





	intertwined

**Author's Note:**

> the writing style for this fic is a little different from my usual
> 
> soulmate wonhui is a concept ive been wanting to write about for a long time

_He’s handsome,_

 

Is Junhui’s first thought about Wonwoo, before he even knew his name. When he’s introduced to the other trainees, Junhui doesn't  understand most of what's being said, but he notices when Wonwoo’s head pops up when the staff said his name, how his eyes widen and land on Junhui. His translator turns to him and tells him all the names of the boys who he will be training with from now on, he hears the name _Jeon Wonwoo_ and his heart stutters in his chest. He’s anxious and in shock and he doesn't know what to think or what to do, so he doesn't say or do anything. He knew his soulmate had to be Korean but he never thought he would meet him so soon after moving to the country. Once the adults go away he’s left standing in a room full of boys he doesn't know or understand and they're all just staring at him and not doing or saying anything either, it's awkward and Junhui feels the invisible anxiety grip the back of his neck even as he tries to smile warmly at them until Mingming suddenly smiles back and comes up to him, chattering away in rapid Mandarin, so fast that Junhui can hardly keep up.

 

He later learns that Mingming isn't so bright or clingy normally, that he just did it to make Junhui feel comfortable when he saw the lost look in Junhui’s eyes, but it only makes Junhui feel even more thankful towards him.

 

Wonwoo does not approach him right away. After Mingming, Soonyoung comes up to him and tries to talk to him and Junhui tries to keep up with the limited Korean he’s learned. Soonyoung _is_ naturally bright and friendly, or at least he is usually. Junhui can see Wonwoo pacing around the walls of the room and shooting him glances every couple of seconds but he doesn't think much of it because he's giving Wonwoo just as many looks. Just as he’s thinking of going up to Wonwoo himself, Wonwoo stops pacing mid step and looks down at the wooden floor for a second or two before he turns in Junhui’s direction and walks up to him determinedly.

 

“Hello,” Wonwoo says.

 

“Hello,” Junhui says back. It's a single word but it's awkward and heavily accented and he cringes, but Wonwoo doesn’t react, doesn't show any signs of finding his pronunciation strange or embarrassing. Instead, Wonwoo raises his arm to show the name printed across his wrist. Junhui looks at it, sees his own name written across Wonwoo’s wrists, both of the names have already turned from black ink to a dark purple. He nods his head and holds up his own wrist, letting Wonwoo read his name. Wonwoo lets out a sigh and Junhui sees his body relax, some of the tension running out of it.

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Wonwoo tells him.

 

Junhui understands but doesn't know how to reply. So he smiles at Wonwoo and nods his head and hopes that enough, enough to tell him that even though it was a surprise and that even though he did still feel awkward, it really was nice to meet him too.

 

Judging by the smile Wonwoo gives him, he understands.

 

Junhui certainly does not fall in love with Wonwoo at first sight, but he doesn't hate him either, they're in that hazy gray in between place, just like with any other stranger you just meet. But this stranger is different, they're meant to be together, and though the feelings aren't there yet Junhui knows he’s not going to be interested in anybody else except for him.

 

….

 

Junhui’s parents weren't soulmates. When he was young he worried that because he didn't come from a soulmate couple that he himself wouldn't get his own soulmate. He told his mother this, and she reassured him that everyone gets a soulmate, no matter what, that not having a soulmate isn't a thing that's ever happened and that on his tenth year he’s going to wake up one morning and the name will be there on his wrist, no matter what.

 

When his brother is born, Junhui loves him but he also looks at him and wonders if there's something more special about him. Since he was born from soulmates, will he have better luck with his own? Junhui also asks his mother about this, because he’s not yet at the age where he starts to not want to bother his mother with his worries, though that time will come for him earlier than most people. She smiles at him, runs her fingers gently through his hair, and tells him, once again, that that’s just not how the world works. He’s relieved, he finds comfort in her words because she’s never not honest with him.

 

On his tenth birthday he wakes up and he cries his little heart out when he doesn't see any name on either of his wrists. He asks his mother _why_ and she has to explain to him that the soulmate mark doesn't always appear on his birthday, that if his soulmate is born in the same year as him it only appears when they turn ten too. Junhui hates all of these weird rules and loopholes.

 

The next month, on the seventeenth of July, there's a name written across his wrist. He doesn't know what language it's in but he doesn't care because he’s just so excited that he actually gets to have a soulmate, that he’s not some defective and that he won't go down in history as the first guy who never had a soulmate. With his mom’s help he figures out it's in Korean and the name _Jeon Wonwoo_ is read to him and he feels a little bit more at rest.

 

He still has doubts though, they grow more with his own growth. He see’s soulmates all around him all day long no matter where he goes and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to actually meet his. At school, there’s a boy that says every day that the girl in the next class is his soulmate, but whenever Junhui sees them together she’s yelling at him and telling him off. There's a lady that Junhui has known all of his life that lives just down the street, one that’s grown to the frail and gray age of ninety-one all by herself, who had just met her soulmate that year. His mother told him that everyone has a soulmate, but now that he’s older he knows that just because people are soulmate it doesn't mean a happy ending, that sometimes people just don't get along and they end up not together, sometimes they even hate each other. He’s not a person who hates the idea of soulmates, but he’s also no longer the type of person who thinks that soulmates should and will fall in love at first sight and then live happily ever after. Just like his feelings towards Wonwoo when they eventually meet, he’s in that in between place.

....

 

Korea is a new place, sometimes it's scary, but most of the time it's just confusing. It's his second week there when he stays behind for his language lesson and he’s expected to walk back to the dorm all by himself. Normally, the walk takes about ten to fifteen minutes, if he remembers correctly.

 

But it’s been thirty-five minutes now and he’s completely sure he hasn't ever seen this street before and it’s oddly silent and very dark and this is definitely a time that he feels both confused _and_ scared. He fumbles for his phone and flinches when he hears a dog barking and calls one of the managers that he can actually speak to as quickly as he can with his shaky hands.

 

“I think I’m lost,” He tells them over the phone once they answer and ask him whats wrong. “I’ve never seen this street before,”

 

They ask him if he can see any signs or descriptive landmarks but all he sees is closed shops and apartment buildings that are all closed and dark. He tells them this, and they reassure him that they'll have someone come find him and most importantly not to move a muscle and to stay where he is.

 

Twenty minutes later, someone shows up, scaring the living daylights out of him at first because he can only see a dark figure coming towards him.

 

“Junhui,” The figure calls out to him and he relaxes once he realizes it's not someone coming to ax murder him, but then he stiffens right back up when he realizes who that voice belongs to.

It's not the manager or anyone else from the staff or even Seungcheol like he had been expecting.

 

Wonwoo walks over to him, huddled in an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants, hair poking out of the hood pulled over his head, and Junhui is pretty sure he’s also wearing a pair of house slippers instead of actual shoes. He says something to Junhui that he doesn't understand, but it's probably just because he seems to still be half asleep.

 

Wonwoo looks at him with his sleepy eyes and holds out a hand for him to take. He says some more things that Junhui doesn't understand completely but he can tell that he’s being scolded, although it's done gently. They hold hands all the way back to the dorm, but Junhui is pretty sure it's just because Wonwoo didn't want to risk him getting lost again.

…

 

They become friends first.  Soonyoung and Junhui become close as well, and everyone knows that Wonwoo is closer to no one more than he is to Soonyoung, so the three of them are often together. Soonyoung helps break some of the tension and awkwardness between them, encourages Junhui to speak to Wonwoo with whatever new Korean he had learned that day. They’re all basic and simple phrases or just random words, but he does his best to speak to  Wonwoo with them, who always listens with a small smile on his face before replying as simply as he can so Junhui can understand him as well. Soonyoung knows their soulmates, might be the only one so far who knows what they are, and he’ll admit to Junhui later in life that he wanted to help them along because they were cute. He says that, but Junhui knows that, at the time, it was probably just because Wonwoo is his close friend and he just wanted to help him with his soulmate.

 

Junhui learns how to communicate with everyone better with each passing day, he fits in with them, he starts to like and care for all of them, even though they can't actually understand each other that well. He shows his affection with hugs and by clinging to all of them in turn. He’s always been physically affectionate, and the only person who might receive attention more than anyone else is Wonwoo. It’s not as awkward with him anymore, they’re friends and they know what they are to each other, they don't fight anything or force anything and let things happen naturally. Normally, Wonwoo isn't exactly the clingy type, but Junhui definitely is, so he allows Junhui to hang onto him and will even cling onto him right back, because Junhui is Junhui and he never minds it when he touches him, he likes it a lot and it makes him feel happy.

 

Instead, Wonwoo is the possessive type. Even when they’re just trainees, he’ll sometimes steal Junhui from someone else in a way that Junhui doesn't notice, but the other person definitely does. Sometimes Soonyoung will drag Junhui in front of the cameras and mess around and play with him just to see Wonwoo pouting in a corner, knowing that he can't do anything about it.

 

Once they're off camera and Junhui wanders back over to Wonwoo, he’ll see that same expressionless look on his face that's similar to the one he gets when he’s tired or reading. Junhui will look at him curiously because he still doesn't know or understand too many things about Wonwoo but he does want to learn them. The expression never lasts long though, not when Junhui is standing right in front of him and looking at him with his big sparkly doe eyes, a tiny affectionate smile will always instantly take over his features and he’ll start grabbing Junhui’s arms and bending them around or put an arm around him to drag him around the room to look at all of the cameras and wave at them. Wonwoo’s arm is light around Junhui’s shoulders because it's as heavy as a stick, but it doesn't stop Junhui from feeling safe and calm underneath it.

 

….

 

There are other soulmates amongst the other trainees, and Junhui sometimes finds himself watching them to see how they all work together. Seungkwan and Hansol, though Junhui has already figured that out long before Mingming told him about them. They truly are two pieces that complete a whole, being so different from one another but perfectly balancing each other out. Junhui never sees them kiss, but there's clearly already a romance between them, something sweet and innocent, pure and wholesome. The once black ink on their wrists is now a matching lilac.

 

Then there's the trio of their eldest hyungs. Jeonghan and Jisoo connect with one another right away, forming a strong bond right from the beginning, playful but already deep and close. Seungcheol distances himself from them, he’s kind and welcoming and sometimes even hugs or cuddles them on camera, but he closes himself off and never lets himself be alone with them. Junhui can almost smell the fear on him, the hesitation and sadness and anxiety. Junhui doesn't know what has messed him up enough to make him feel that way, and he can tell Jisoo and Jeonghan haven't been able to figure it out either.

 

Junhui feels sad for him, but he knows it isn't his place to intervene, that he should let the three of them figure things out by themselves. It reminds Junhui of his own fears when he was younger, and it makes him look at Wonwoo and appreciate him so much, because now it's so easy and comfortable to be around him, to joke with him and talk with him. He hopes that one day, Seungcheol will be able to just as happy and content, feel just as safe and comfortable as Junhui already does with Wonwoo.

…

When Minghao joins the group, Junhui throws himself into Wonwoo’s lap and wails in broken Korean about how he’s gonna be embarrassed for the rest of his entire life and tells him what happened when they first met each other. Wonwoo laughs, nose scrunching up cutely, runs a hand through Junhui’s hair and tells him that he’s going to be fine and that the two of them are gonna end up being close friends and that one day they're gonna look back on that day and laugh.

 

He’s half correct. He ends up pretty much adopting Minghao. He leads him through dance practices and everything else that he thinks Minghao might have trouble with, helping him with Korean and with communicating with the other members so that they can all get to know each other more quickly.

 

It’s fair to say that he spends more time with Minghao than with anyone else for a few solid months, and Soonyoung tells him he looks more like a beaming and proud mother than a hyung. He clings to Minghao, because he’s Junhui and that's what he does, he clings and holds onto people and they usually end up shrugging him off within a few minutes and Minghao is no different.

 

So he never thought that someone could have missed his clinging, would have missed his touch. He’s in the practice room and he’s about to get up from the floor when he sees Minghao walk into the room, but someone grabs him around the waist and pulls them down into their lap, setting their head on top of his to keep him in place. He giggles and goes to get back up again, figuring that whoever it is was just teasing him, but they pull him back down and wrap their arms tighter around him.

 

“Stay.” Wonwoo grunts in his ear and Junhui becomes pliant instantly, letting Wonwoo move them both around until he’s comfortable up against the hard wall and even harder wooden floor that they’ve sat on for countless days and nights. “You’ve been making me lonely lately,” Wonwoo says, head on Junhui’s shoulder.

 

“What do you mean?” Junhui asks him innocently and he feels Wonwoo sigh against his neck and doesn't answer him and they end up sitting together like that until Soonyoung and Seungcheol round them all up for something or other to do. Wonwoo is reluctant to let him go, insist on Junhui standing next to him during practice instead of Minghao and something clicks in Junhui’s mind and he can't help the giggles that escape him because that's _so cute._

 

From then on, Junhui returns to giving all of the members equal clinging time, and no there is no favoritism, it's just that Wonwoo’s body is suddenly more available to him and also very suddenly warm and extra comfortable that's all.

….

 

The first time they kiss, it's six months before they will debut, though they don't know it yet. It’s their turn to clean the practice room, the rest of the members have long since left them behind to go eat or sleep. Wonwoo is sweeping the floor while Junhui wipes down the mirror wall, and Wonwoo finishes before he does but he doesn't leave. Instead, he takes a seat on the now clean floor and watches Junhui finish up cleaning. The two of them don't say much of anything to each other, but it's a comfortable silence, it's one of the things Junhui really likes about Wonwoo, that they can just be together in silence without it being strange or awkward. Usually, Junhui would be talking, but he’s had a lot of things on his mind lately. Like how his heart stutters whenever Wonwoo puts a hand on him or says his name or the way his face warms up and he hides and squeals into his pillow whenever he thinks about Wonwoo. He would be embarrassed by it, but he guesses it's normal, that's there nothing he should feel ashamed of because Wonwoo is his soulmate after all, he’s meant to fall for him.

 

“One more minute, one more minute,” Junhui tells Wonwoo when he hears his soulmates stomach grumble angrily. Wonwoo doesn't say anything, humming in reply instead. One would think because he was cleaning a glass wall, he would have seen Wonwoo walk up from behind him, but he doesn't. When he finally finishes on the upper most corner and turns around it's only to find Wonwoo standing maybe a foot away from him.

 

He doesn't say a word, he gently takes the cloth out of Junhui’s hand and lets it drop to the floor with a wet splat that they both ignore. Wonwoo lays a gentle hand on Junhui’s right bicep and gently guides him backward until his back hits the wall. His bangs hang in his eyes and his lips are trembling, but Junhui doesn't comment, does nothing but reach up and gently brush the hair out of his eyes and then holds onto his gaze with an encouraging look as he lets his hand fall back down at his side. Wonwoo’s fingers shake around his arm as he leans forward, slowly, slowly, slowly, until his lips brush against Junhui’s. It’s nothing but the briefest brush of the lips, but it makes Junhui feel like a million butterflies are fluttering and swooping around in his upper stomach and a smile stretches onto his face, a smile that Wonwoo returns, looking at Junhui from underneath those baggy bangs that have fallen into his face once more.

 

Neither of them says anything, Wonwoo takes Junhui’s hand and they leave the practice room with their fingers intertwined together until they leave the building and Junhui buys them both ramen at the nearest convenience store because it's his turn. It’s the cheapest ramen they have and it burns his tongue, but it tastes good, makes him feel good, with Wonwoo sitting across from him.

 

It takes them two years to share their first kiss, but Junhui wouldn't have wished for it to have happened any other way.

 

….

 

It’s already been another year. They’ve debuted, they have a large fanbase that has a name, who loves them and who they love a lot as well. They’ve had albums come out and the sales were insane in their eyes and they’re coming out with a full repackaged album soon as well. Seungcheol isn't the same scared and sad person around Jeonghan and Jisoo anymore, more soulmates within the group have been admitted, and Junhui and Wonwoo have that same easy relationship, so similar to the one that they first had before they had that first kiss, except now they kiss sometimes and hold hands even more than they did before.

 

They're getting ready for another comeback when Wonwoo gets sick. Junhui knows he’s been under a lot of stress later with the preparation, things about his past that Junhui never knew about and does not agree with were exposed and he was facing a lot of backlash. Junhui isn't sure if it’s what made Wonwoo sick or not, but when he reads about acute gastritis and it says it can be caused by stress, he cries in Minghao’s lap for hours on end and blames himself even though he doesn't have any reason to think that.  Wonwoo is rushed to the hospital and Junhui and all of the other members aren't allowed to see him, neither can they talk to him until he comes home.

 

Junhui is distraught, for a lack of a better word.

 

He becomes a bit obsessed and spends every waking moment where they're not performing and promoting reading about the disease, eyes flickering thought every single word of every article about it that he can find, even making Jisoo or Hansol translate some articles that are in English. When he reads that one can die from it in extreme cases, he nearly wrecks the entire dorm, crying and kicking up a storm while he blows up their manager's phones until he gets some answers. When one of them eventually answers, Seungcheol takes the phone from him and does the talking while Soonyoung and Jihoon try to calm him down, or at least keep him from accidentally breaking anything else.

 

Junhui is busy wiping his tears off on Minghao’s sweatshirt and getting yelled at for it when Seungcheol comes back out of his room, a small smile on his face.

 

“Guess who’s coming home tomorrow?”

 

Junhui lets out a happy shriek this time and all of the present members wince through their own relieved smiles.

 

For all of his happiness at the time, Junhui stays off to the side when Wonwoo comes home. The hip hop unit almost sends him flying across the room with their excited puppy hugs when he first gets through the door, Soonyoung and Chan help Wonwoo to his room even though he insists he’s fine to walk and Junhui trails behind the group slowly, suddenly not feeling like being around them much. He doesn't know why, but he doesn't enter Wonwoo’s room-which is also his-for nearly five hours after he comes home. Wonwoo is laid out across his bed, a ice pack on his stomach even though he told Seungkwan he doesn't need it, head propped up a dozen or so pillows and about five blankets rumbled up ontop of him because, apparently, they will make him rest well and get him feel better faster.

 

Once Junhui finally works himself up to it, he walks past their bedroom door about ten times before he slowly steps in, Wonwoo looking up at the noise.

 

“Junhui,” Wonwoo says.

 

And suddenly Junhui is crying and again and he’s tucked into Wonwoo’s side like a giant baby, his poor soulmate rubbing a hand up and down his back and murmuring comforting words to him, as if he’s the sick one.

 

“Wonwoo,” Junhui sobs. “I love you,”

 

“I know,” Wonwoo says, sounding confused. “I love you too.”

 

“No,” Junhui protests. “I’m in love with you.”

 

“Yes, I know,” Wonwoo repeats, making Junhui look up at him with his big teary eyes. “I’m in love with you too.”

 

He thought he had completely accepted him, but maybe he hadn't. He’s wasted so much time with his own stupidity, holding Wonwoo tightly but at arm's length away from him. He’s known that Wonwoo has always wanted to take their relationship a bit more seriously, a bit further,  but he never pushed it because he wanted to make Junhui feel comfortable, wanted to make sure that Junhui was happy. He’s always been a bit scared, a bit hesitant, nowhere near as much as Seungcheol was, but he had always treated Wonwoo like a friend that he occasionally kissed and held hands with rather than his soulmate. What had he ever been so afraid of? Wonwoo is always good to him, always kind and understanding, never pushing him and always playing with him even if he seemed a bit exasperated. Junhui realized now that he wanted things to be the way Wonwoo wanted them too, but of course he had only came to the realization when he was sick in the hospital.

 

“I know I’m not too late, because you’ll always wait for me.” Junhui whispers and Wonwoo nods his agreement and it just makes more tears fall from Junhui’s eyes.

 

“I could have lost you, I don't want to have any regret if something like this ever happens again,” Junhui sniffles into his neck. “I want to take us more seriously.” Wonwoo holds him gently with one arm, but maybe it's because his arms are still too weak to hold him any harder. Junhui rests one of his arms across Wonwoo’s thin waist and holds onto his shirt like it's a lifeline. Wonwoo doesn't reply, he just sets his other hand in Junhui’s hair and pets his hair flat against his head, fingers running down occasionally to caress the side of his face. He doesn't need to reply though, Junhui can feel the way Wonwoo’s heart sped up underneath his cheek, can hear the nearly silent breathy laugh that falls from his chapped lips.

 

There are no hard feelings, there is no bitterness if it's as Wonwoo has known the exact day Junhui would say these words to him and has just been patiently waiting for him.

 

Wonwoo understands him more than anyone, and even though he can be thick headed, Junhui understands and knows him just as much.

 

It’s because we’re soulmate.

 

Yes, because they’re soulmates, because they’re meant to be, because they’ll always be patient with one another, always be understanding. Maybe others aren't so lucky, but they are, because they truly are a pair meant to be.

 

Junhui lays there with these thoughts, a smile on his face, as the two of them fall asleep with their hands intertwined.

 

…

 

Epilogue:

 

It’s a warm night in L.A, cooled only by the near silent air conditioning and Junhui goes back to the room that he shares with Wonwoo to find him fast asleep, looking soft and so beautiful in his white sleeping shirt and brown hair already mussed. Junhui gently gets into bed with him, sits himself up on his elbows and runs his fingers through his hair, tracing every line of his face with his eyes.

 

Another year has passed by so quickly. Time stands still when he stands with Seventeen but it also seems to speed up tenfold. A year of them, him and Wonwoo, taking their relationship further and more seriously. Junhui finally brings Wonwoo home with him to meet his family, he tells Wonwoo things he’s never told anyone before, shares parts of himself that he couldn't see himself sharing with anyone but his soulmate, shares the pain and hurt that he’s been hiding but Wonwoo takes off of his shoulders with a smile.  They go to see Wonwoo’s family on several occasions, Wonwoo shows and shares things with him too, things he wasn't sure if Junhui was ready for and had thus stopped himself from sharing. The thought of Wonwoo hiding things from him as to not burden him makes him cry, he feels guilt but Wonwoo insists that he shouldn't, he kisses Junhui’s fingers and tells him he’s perfect, perfect for him.

 

Wonwoo grumbles something in his sleep, something that sounds like his name, and Junhui is pulled down and tugged into the warmth of his chest, head resting right above his steadily beating heart, the beat that would probably match Junhui’s if he checked. His hand sits large and protective on the top of Junhui’s hand, caressing his hair gently, another round of unintelligible mumbles escaping his lips before he sets a soft, sleepy kiss against Junhui’s forehead. Junhui wraps both of his arms around Wonwoo’s waist and holds him back just as tightly, there in the quiet room that lays in a city of a foreign country that they both feel awkward and lost in, lost like the night that Wonwoo came to find him when he was lost on a random street and brought him back to the dorm, where made sure Junhui got into bed before returning to his own slumber. It still feels like home though, home is not the dorm or even his parents house, but it's Wonwoo’s arms, Wonwoo’s scent, his voice, his touch, the sound of his heartbeat.

 

Home is Wonwoo, the one place that he will always belong.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Happy Wonhui Day! 
> 
> twitter: moonsjunhuis  
> tumblr: moonsjunhui


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